Read this before you load a single crate
How the four nights fit together, and how to use this page.
On the calendar
Four Wednesday listening nights in the Rainbow Beach Park fieldhouse: Feb 3, 10, 17 and 24, 2027. On the Saturdays in between, family teams build their own songs in Remix the Record, and everything comes together in the Journey Set on Saturday, Feb 27. See February on the calendar.
How to use this page
Each night has a running order with a cue note per track, a DJ panel (arc, mixing, what to do if you run long), and a bench of alternates to swap in. The Global Crate is a larger pool for longer slots or the Journey Set. It is not meant to be played top to bottom.
Use “Copy running order” to drop a set into a notes app, and “Show caution flags only” to see every track that needs a clean edit, a content warning, or a version check before you play it.
Check every track before the night
Artists, versions, running times and clean-edit availability all need confirming in your library before load-in. Tracks marked Verify or Clean edit must be checked first. See Before the Night.
Night 1 of 4 · Wed, Feb 3, 2027
Roots, Spirit, Resistance & Early Global Echoes
Sacred roots, early civil rights, anti-colonial struggle, and the Afro-Latin foundations that were being laid at the same time. Opens quiet and ends with a bridge to the present.
| # | Track | Artist | Country / Base | Style | Cue note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing | Melba Moore & Friends | US | Anthem / spiritual | Opener. Lights down, no beat, no talk-over. This is the Black national anthem; say its name before you play it. |
| 2 | Wade in the Water | Ramsey Lewis Trio | Chicago | Jazz / spiritual | 1966 instrumental. Settles the room while late arrivals come in. |
| 3 | Go Down Moses | Louis Armstrong | US | Spiritual / jazz | Armstrong's horn does the talking. Good hand-off out of the trio. |
| 4 | Oh Happy Day | Edwin Hawkins Singers | US | Gospel | First real lift of the night. Hands up, room sings. |
| 5 | How I Got Over | Mahalia Jackson | Chicago | Gospel | Use the live version if you have it. Mahalia at her most commanding. |
| 6 | Strange Fruit | Billie Holiday | US | Protest ballad | Heavy · lynching Place it deliberately. No talk-over, no lights up, no dancing. Follow it with an instrumental, never a banger. |
| 7 | Driva' Man | Max Roach & Abbey Lincoln | US | Jazz / Freedom Now Suite | The air after Strange Fruit. Abbey Lincoln's vocal enters late; don't fill the silence. |
| 8 | Fables of Faubus | Charles Mingus | US | Jazz satire | Verify version Long The 1959 Columbia cut is instrumental; the Candid Original Faubus Fables has the satirical vocal and runs ~9 minutes. Know which one is in your crate. |
| 9 | Alabama | John Coltrane | US | Jazz elegy | Written after the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Long and mournful; let it breathe. |
| 10 | Canto de Yemanjá | Vinicius de Moraes & Baden Powell | Brazil | Afro-Brazilian / samba-jazz | From Os Afro-Sambas. A Candomblé prayer; name the tradition in your intro. |
| 11 | Son de la Loma | Trio Matamoros | Cuba | Afro-Cuban son | Roots of son, 1920s. Lighter texture after the heavy US run. |
| 12 | A Change Is Gonna Come | Sam Cooke | US (raised Chicago) | Soul / civil rights | Emotional peak. Do not talk over the intro. |
| 13 | People Get Ready | The Impressions | Chicago | Soul / gospel | Mayfield's train metaphor. Pairs naturally with Sam Cooke. |
| 14 | Freedom Highway | The Staple Singers | Chicago | Gospel / soul | Written for the Selma marches. Mention that before you drop it. |
| 15 | Mississippi Goddam | Nina Simone | US | Protest | Language Profanity in the title and the lyric. Either label it as a historical document, or play Four Women only. Your call, but make it consciously. |
| 16 | Four Women | Nina Simone | US | Protest ballad | Portrait of four Black women. Quiet the room first. |
| 17 | Ella's Song | Sweet Honey in the Rock | US | A cappella | Bernice Johnson Reagon's tribute to Ella Baker. Explains the organizers behind the movement. |
| 18 | Abraham, Martin and John | Marvin Gaye | US | Soul ballad | 1970. Ties the assassinations together in one lyric. |
| 19 | To Be Young, Gifted and Black | Nina Simone | US | Anthem | Written for Lorraine Hansberry. This is the night's thesis statement. |
| 20 | Glory | Common & John Legend | US / Chicago | Hip-hop / film | Closer. From Selma. Bridges straight into Night 2 and the present day. |
Arc & pacing
- Minutes 0–20: listening set. Nobody dances yet, and that's correct.
- Minutes 20–55: heavy middle. Strange Fruit → jazz elegies → Brazil/Cuba as relief.
- Minutes 55–90: lift and land. Sam Cooke to Glory is a straight line up.
Mixing notes
- This night is not beatmatched. Crossfade, don't mix. Let songs end.
- Keep vinyl crackle or room tone between tracks rather than silence.
- If you must mix, do it under applause, not under Billie, Nina, or Coltrane.
Running long or short
- Long: cut 8 and 18 (both long, both swappable).
- Short: add Keep on Pushing (Impressions) or Zumbi (Jorge Ben) from the bench.
- Emergency filler: a second instrumental from the Ramsey Lewis or Ahmad Jamal catalog.
Bench · 5 alternates
- Keep on Pushing – The Impressions (Chicago). Strong, obvious swap.
- Zumbi – Jorge Ben (Brazil). Zumbi dos Palmares, Black resistance. Best South American addition to this night.
- Asimbonanga – Johnny Clegg & Savuka (South Africa). Currently on Night 3; also works here as an early anti-apartheid echo.
- Biko – Peter Gabriel (UK). Frame it explicitly as an ally tribute to Steve Biko, not a Black artist's own testimony.
- Canto das Três Raças – Clara Nunes (Brazil). Beautiful, but the "three races" framing needs a spoken introduction.
Night 2 of 4 · Wed, Feb 10, 2027
Soul, Funk, Afrobeat & Global Black Power
1960s–70s liberation movements with a heavy Chicago soul presence, plus Afrobeat, Afro-Colombian salsa and Pan-African funk. This is Valentine's week, so the last two tracks pivot to Black love and beauty.
| # | Track | Artist | Country / Base | Style | Cue note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud | James Brown | US | Funk | Open hot. 1968. The room knows the chorus before you finish the intro. |
| 2 | Respect | Aretha Franklin | US | Soul | Everyone sings it. Use that; let the crowd carry a verse. |
| 3 | Move On Up | Curtis Mayfield | Chicago | Soul / funk | Version Album cut runs ~8:55; single edit ~3:45. Use the single here and save the long version for the Journey Set. |
| 4 | Is It Because I'm Black | Syl Johnson | Chicago | Soul | Slow, heavy, gorgeous. Twinight, 1969. Let it land before the next drop. |
| 5 | Give More Power to the People | The Chi-Lites | Chicago | Soul | Chicago's answer to the anthems. Bright, horn-driven, easy to mix out of. |
| 6 | Respect Yourself | The Staple Singers | Chicago | Soul / gospel | Pops the energy back up after the Syl Johnson dip. |
| 7 | Black Man's Cry | Fela Kuti & Africa 70 | Nigeria | Afrobeat | Long · ~11 min Decide now whether this is the full version or an edit. Never back-to-back with Zombie. |
| 8 | Zombie | Fela Kuti | Nigeria | Afrobeat | Long · ~12 min Satire aimed at the Nigerian military. Two Felas = ~23 minutes, a quarter of your night. See Balance Check. |
| 9 | Soul Makossa | Manu Dibango | Cameroon | Afro-funk | 1972. The perfect bridge out of Fela and into the Americas. |
| 10 | Rebelión | Joe Arroyo y La Verdad | Colombia | Afro-Colombian salsa | Tells a slave rebellion in Cartagena. Has a spoken Spanish interlude; pre-listen so you know whether to ride it or talk over it. |
| 11 | Message from a Black Man | The Temptations | US | Soul | Late-60s Norman Whitfield era. Darker than the hits; good for a mid-set turn. |
| 12 | Everyday People | Sly & the Family Stone | US | Funk / soul | Everybody in the room can sing this. Reset the mood. |
| 13 | What's Going On | Marvin Gaye | US | Soul | Detroit, 1971. The center of gravity of the whole night. |
| 14 | Living for the City | Stevie Wonder | US | Soul / funk | Long Seven minutes of narrative. Trim or fade early if you're running over. |
| 15 | Black Man | Stevie Wonder | US | Soul | From Songs in the Key of Life. Lists Black contributions to history; good spoken-word setup. |
| 16 | The Revolution Will Not Be Televised | Gil Scott-Heron | US | Spoken word | Give it a clean runway and don't cut in under it. |
| 17 | Brown Skin | India.Arie | US | Neo-soul | Valentine's pivot. Beauty and love; signal the change of mood. |
| 18 | Oh Girl | The Chi-Lites | Chicago | Soul ballad | Closer, and a trailer for the Feb 13 Lovers Rock party. |
Arc & pacing
- Tracks 1–6: wall of anthems. Keep transitions fast; don't let the energy sag.
- Tracks 7–10: the long haul. This is where you lose or win the room.
- Tracks 17–18: deliberate cool-down into Valentine's weekend.
Mixing notes
- Everything here sits around 100–120 BPM except the Fela tracks (~105 but feels slower).
- Fela and Manu Dibango run on long vamps; you can mix in and out of them anywhere.
- Revolution Will Not Be Televised is your reset button. Use it to buy time.
Running long or short
- Long (likely): move Black Man's Cry to Feb 17, or swap one Fela for an edit.
- Short: add Young, Gifted and Black (Aretha) or Stand! (Sly).
- Dance-floor filler: Back to Life (Soul II Soul) or Sorriso Negro (Dona Ivone Lara).
Bench · 8 alternates
- Young, Gifted and Black – Aretha Franklin (US). The sister record to Nina's version on Night 1.
- Choice of Colors – The Impressions (Chicago). Mayfield asking the question directly.
- Ball of Confusion – The Temptations (US). Faster, angrier, good mid-set kick.
- Stand! – Sly & the Family Stone (US). Pure dance floor.
- Inner City Blues – Marvin Gaye (US). Pairs with What's Going On, but two Marvins is a lot.
- Sorriso Negro – Dona Ivone Lara (Brazil). Black beauty and pride in samba. Perfect Valentine's addition.
- Back to Life – Soul II Soul (UK). Black British soul, light and celebratory.
- Water No Get Enemy – Fela Kuti (Nigeria). Only if you're dropping one of the other two Felas.
Night 3 of 4 · Wed, Feb 17, 2027
Global Diaspora Calling
Caribbean roots reggae, UK sound-system culture, South African anti-apartheid, Afro-Brazilian samba-reggae, Afro-Cuban salsa and a Haiti pairing. This is the widest night geographically, and the one with room to grow.
| # | Track | Artist | Country / Base | Style | Cue note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Africa Unite | Bob Marley & the Wailers | Jamaica | Roots reggae | 1979, Survival. Sets the pan-African frame for the whole night. |
| 2 | Equal Rights | Peter Tosh | Jamaica | Roots reggae | Tosh's blunter version of the same message. Easy mix out of Marley. |
| 3 | War | Bob Marley & the Wailers | Jamaica | Roots reggae | Built on Haile Selassie's UN speech; fits SelassieFest. Say so. |
| 4 | Marcus Garvey | Burning Spear | Jamaica | Roots reggae | Names the movement's founder. Deep, patient groove; don't rush it. |
| 5 | Handsworth Revolution | Steel Pulse | UK | UK roots reggae | Birmingham, 1978. Black British identity, from the second generation. |
| 6 | Free Nelson Mandela | The Special AKA | UK | Ska / 2-Tone | 1984. The song that helped make Mandela a household name in Britain. Tell the room. |
| 7 | Nelson Mandela | Youssou N'Dour | Senegal | Mbalax | Pair Different rhythm, same subject. Designed to follow track 6. |
| 8 | Soweto Blues | Hugh Masekela & Miriam Makeba | South Africa | Afro-jazz | About the 1976 Soweto uprising. Makeba's voice; give it space. |
| 9 | Asimbonanga | Johnny Clegg & Savuka | South Africa | Afro-pop / maskandi | "We have not seen him," a Mandela tribute from a mixed-race band. Context worth one sentence. |
| 10 | Haiti | Caetano Veloso & Gilberto Gil | Brazil | MPB / Afro-Brazilian | Verify version Pair Confirm which album/version you have. A meditation on Haiti's history, not a dance track. |
| 11 | Haiti (I'm Sorry) | David Rudder | Trinidad | Calypso / soca | Pair The answer to track 10: the Caribbean replying to Brazil. |
| 12 | Faraó (Divindade do Egito) | Olodum | Brazil | Samba-reggae | Salvador, Bahia. Black pride in the drums. Biggest live energy of the night; save it. |
| 13 | Sonny's Lettah | Linton Kwesi Johnson | UK / Jamaica | Dub poetry | Heavy · police violence A letter from prison to a mother. Introduce it in one sentence and let the words carry. |
| 14 | La Negra Tiene Tumbao | Celia Cruz | Cuba | Salsa / timba | Celebratory. Celia was in her mid-70s and still had more energy than the room. |
| 15 | Redemption Song | Bob Marley & the Wailers | Jamaica | Acoustic reggae | Slow it down and hand it back to the room. Sing-along guaranteed. |
| 16 | Brown Skin Girl | Beyoncé, SAINt JHN, WizKid & Blue Ivy | US / Nigeria / Guyana | Afropop / R&B | Closer. Ties the whole diaspora back to now. |
Arc & pacing
- Tracks 1–4: Jamaica, steady. One-drop groove, no rushing.
- Tracks 5–9: UK and South Africa. Political turn; the room gets quieter and more focused.
- Tracks 10–14: the Americas. Rhythms change fast; that's the point.
- 15–16: wind down.
Mixing notes
- Reggae sits around 70–80 BPM in half-time feel. Mix on the one-drop.
- Free Nelson Mandela → Nelson Mandela is a tempo jump; use a short announcement or a drum fill between them.
- Faraó is your peak. Everything after it is a cool-down, so don't put it too early.
Running long or short
- You are short; use it. Pull 3–4 from the Global Crate: Wátina (Belize), Oro (Colombia), Rebel Warrior (ADF), Gimme Hope Jo'anna (Eddy Grant).
- Reclaim from Night 2: Black Man's Cry (Fela).
- Long: drop one of the two Haiti tracks, or La Negra if the room has cooled.
Bench · 6 alternates
- African – Peter Tosh (Jamaica). Short, sharp, direct.
- Slave Driver – The Wailers (Jamaica). Early Wailers, raw.
- Get Up, Stand Up – The Wailers (Jamaica). The obvious crowd-pleaser if you need one.
- Slavery Days – Burning Spear (Jamaica). Pairs with Marcus Garvey.
- Ku Klux Klan – Steel Pulse (UK). Harder than Handsworth Revolution; check the room.
- Bring Him Back Home – Hugh Masekela (South Africa). The other great Mandela song; don't stack four Mandela songs in one night.
Night 4 of 4 · Wed, Feb 24, 2027 · three days before the Journey Set
Hip-Hop, Afrobeats, Amapiano & Global Now
The most recent music: US hip-hop and R&B, UK rap, Afrobeats, amapiano, and the diaspora worldwide. This is the night where clean edits matter most.
| # | Track | Artist | Country / Base | Style | Cue note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fight the Power | Public Enemy | US | Hip-hop | Clean edit only 1989, Do the Right Thing. Open the night with it; it still sounds like a warning. |
| 2 | Rosa Parks | OutKast | US | Hip-hop | 1998. Easy groove after the intensity; good second track. |
| 3 | Umi Says | Mos Def | US | Hip-hop / neo-soul | "I want Black people to be free." Slow, beautiful, and it resets the room. |
| 4 | Changes | 2Pac | US | Hip-hop | Clean edit Samples "The Way It Is," a good talk-in point if you're introducing tracks. |
| 5 | Black | Dave | UK | UK rap | Check for clean edit Strong language throughout. Confirm a clean edit exists before you commit. If it doesn't, swap in Introvert (Little Simz) from the bench. |
| 6 | Final Form | Sampa the Great | Zambia / Australia | Hip-hop | Check edit Black womanhood and self-definition. Big, confident energy. |
| 7 | Borders | M.I.A. | UK / Sri Lanka | Hip-hop / global | Check edit Refugees and diaspora. Use it to talk about the African diaspora in Asia, including the Siddi communities of India and Pakistan. |
| 8 | African Giant | Burna Boy | Nigeria | Afrobeats | Clean edit Preferred over "Last Last" for an all-ages room. Check the edit before you load it. |
| 9 | Water | Tyla | South Africa | Amapiano / pop | Language Innuendo in the lyric. Use the clean edit or skip it; the amapiano groove can come from elsewhere. |
| 10 | Alright | Kendrick Lamar | US | Hip-hop | 2015. The protest-march chorus. Let the room shout it. Clean edit. |
| 11 | Black America Again | Common ft. Stevie Wonder | Chicago | Hip-hop / soul | Local, direct, and it lands with an older crowd too. Best hometown moment of the night. |
| 12 | This Is America | Childish Gambino | US | Hip-hop | Video warning Audio only. Do not screen the video for an all-ages room; the imagery is violent. |
| 13 | Formation | Beyoncé | US | Pop / bounce | 2016. Consider moving this earlier; the room peaks here and then stays peaked. Clean edit. |
| 14 | Freedom | Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar | US | Pop / hip-hop | The Kendrick verse is the payoff. Don't talk over it. |
| 15 | Black Parade | Beyoncé | US | Pop / Afrobeats | Closer. Released on Juneteenth 2020. Say that; it's the whole point. |
Arc & pacing
- Tracks 1–4: legacy run, 1989 to 1998. The room's parents' music, and it still hits.
- Tracks 5–9: UK, Asia and Africa turn. Newest ears in the room wake up here.
- Tracks 13–15: the Beyoncé run. Three in a row is a plateau: either commit to it as a finale or spread it out.
Mixing notes
- Load clean edits only for this night, and label them in your library.
- Amapiano and Afrobeats sit around 100–115 BPM; hip-hop around 85–95. Plan the jumps.
- Umi Says and Black America Again are your breathers.
Running long or short
- You are short. Add 2–3 from the bench: Introvert, Keep Ya Head Up, I Am Not My Hair.
- Long: drop track 2 or 9; both are the least essential to the through-line.
- Link to Feb 27: end on Black Parade and say the Journey Set is in three days.
Bench · 9 alternates
- Introvert – Little Simz (UK). Orchestral and huge; strong mid-set lift. Check edit
- Comedy, Tragedy, History – Akala (UK). Black British history in one verse. Check edit
- Definition – Black Star (US). Raw, mid-90s, good opener alternative.
- Brown Skin Lady – Black Star (US). Pairs with Brown Skin from Night 2.
- Keep Ya Head Up – 2Pac (US). Gentler than Changes; good all-ages pick.
- I Am Not My Hair – India.Arie (US). Strong, clean, and it connects to Night 2.
- Be Free – J. Cole (US). Check edit.
- Hell You Talmbout – Janelle Monáe (US). Heavy Names victims of racist violence over drums. Powerful, but it needs a full stop before and after.
- F.U.B.U. – Solange (US). Language Check edit before considering.
Balance check
Run the math before the night, not during it. These estimates assume full-length versions; edits and fades will buy you more.
| Night | Tracks | Est. runtime | Verdict | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 3 | 20 | 82–90 min | At the ceiling | Trim 1–2, or use the shorter version of Fables of Faubus. |
| Feb 10 | 18 | 88–100 min | Over | Two Fela tracks are ~23 min on their own. Move Black Man's Cry to Feb 17, or use an edit. |
| Feb 17 | 16 | 62–70 min | Room to grow | Pull 3–4 from the Global Crate: Wátina, Oro, Rebel Warrior, Gimme Hope Jo'anna. |
| Feb 24 | 15 | 58–66 min | Room to grow | Add 2–3 from the bench. Sits nicely under 80 min. |
The rebalancing move
Move “Black Man's Cry” (Fela) from Feb 10 to Feb 17. That takes Night 2 under 90 minutes, gives Night 3 the length it's missing, and puts Fela next to the other African tracks.
The Global Crate
A larger pool for longer slots, the Journey Set, or swapping into any of the four nights. This is not a running order; pick by night and by room.
Read the “why / caution” column first
Some of these are protest songs, some are celebrations, and some need a spoken introduction to make sense to an all-ages audience. A few are by non-Black artists paying tribute; frame those honestly.
| Region | Artist – Track | Base | Best fit | Why / caution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia / South Asia | Asian Dub Foundation – Rebel Warrior | UK | Feb 17 or Feb 24 | Anti-racist diaspora solidarity. Check edit |
| Asia / South Asia | Asian Dub Foundation – Fortress Europe | UK | Feb 17 | Anti-border, anti-racism. Check edit |
| Asia / South Asia | Asian Dub Foundation – Free Satpal Ram | UK | Feb 17 | UK racial-justice case. Check language |
| Central America | Andy Palacio & Garifuna Collective – Wátina | Belize | Feb 17 | Black Central American / Garifuna pride. Cultural, not protest; label it that way. |
| Central America | Aurelio Martinez – Laru Beya | Honduras / Belize | Feb 17 | Garifuna cultural pride. Verify version |
| Central America | Umalali – Yündüya | Belize | Feb 17 | Garifuna women's voices. Cultural, slower; good cool-down. |
| South America | Jorge Ben – Zumbi | Brazil | Feb 3 or Feb 17 | Zumbi dos Palmares and Black resistance. Strong, clear, easy to introduce. |
| South America | Clara Nunes – Canto das Três Raças | Brazil | Feb 3 or Feb 17 | The “three races” framing needs a spoken intro. |
| South America | Dona Ivone Lara – Sorriso Negro | Brazil | Feb 10 | Black beauty and pride in samba. Perfect Valentine's addition. |
| South America | Gilberto Gil – Ponta de Lança Africano (Umbabarauma) | Brazil | Feb 10 or Feb 17 | Afro-Brazilian identity through football. Lighter, danceable. |
| South America | ChocQuibTown – Oro | Colombia | Feb 17 or Feb 24 | Afro-Colombian pride, modern production. Check edit |
| South America | Susana Baca – Negra Presuntuosa | Peru | Feb 17 | Afro-Peruvian culture. Verify version Quiet and slow. |
| Europe / UK | Soul II Soul – Back to Life / Keep On Movin' | UK | Feb 10 or Feb 17 | Black British soul, celebratory. Easy crowd win. |
| Europe / UK | Neneh Cherry – Buffalo Stance | UK / Sweden | Feb 24 | Diaspora pop. Fun, but not a history lesson; place it as relief. |
| Europe / UK | Eddy Grant – Gimme Hope Jo'anna | UK / Guyana | Feb 3 or Feb 17 | Anti-apartheid, and catchy enough for an all-ages room. |
| Europe / UK | Peter Gabriel – Biko | UK | Feb 3 or Feb 17 | Ally tribute to Steve Biko. Frame it as an ally track. |
| Europe / UK | Artists United Against Apartheid – Sun City | US / UK | Feb 3 or Feb 17 | Anti-apartheid ensemble record. Long; use the edit. |
| Europe / UK | Bob & Marcia – Young, Gifted and Black | UK / Jamaica | Feb 10 | The UK reggae cover of Nina's anthem; a great bridge between Nights 1 and 3. |
| Europe / UK | The Equals – Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys | UK | Feb 10 | Mixed-race UK band, racial pride. Light and fun. |
| Africa | Miriam Makeba – Pata Pata | South Africa | Feb 10 or Feb 17 | Cultural pride, lighter. Good palate cleanser after the political block. |
| Africa | Brenda Fassie – Black President | South Africa | Feb 3 or Feb 17 | Mandela tribute with real joy in it. |
| Africa | Mory Kanté – Yeke Yeke | Guinea | Feb 10 or Feb 17 | Pan-African dance floor. Pure energy. |
| Africa / Europe | Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry – 7 Seconds | Senegal / Sweden | Feb 17 | Diaspora crossover. Lighter than the rest of Night 3; good late slot. |
Pairing bank for “The Story” & “The Echo”
The Feb 13 Remix the Record session asks family teams to pair two songs per topic. Several pairs are built into the four nights; here they are collected.
| Topic | Song A: the story | Song B: the echo | Why the pair works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lynching & memory | Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday | Glory, Common & John Legend | 1939 to 2014: the same wound, two completely different rooms. |
| Haiti | Haiti, Caetano Veloso & Gilberto Gil | Haiti (I'm Sorry), David Rudder | Brazil and Trinidad answering each other. |
| Nina Simone | Four Women | To Be Young, Gifted and Black | Portrait and affirmation from the same voice. |
| Pride, then and now | Move On Up, Curtis Mayfield | Black Parade, Beyoncé | Chicago 1970 and Juneteenth 2020. Same instruction: keep moving. |
| Afrobeat generations | Zombie, Fela Kuti | African Giant, Burna Boy | Nigeria, 1976 and 2019. The critique and the crown. |
| Black beauty | Brown Skin, India.Arie | Brown Skin Girl, Beyoncé & WizKid | Two decades of the same lesson, different production. |
| Black Britain | Handsworth Revolution, Steel Pulse | Introvert, Little Simz | 1978 and 2021. The second generation, then the third. |
| South Africa | Soweto Blues, Makeba & Masekela | Water, Tyla (clean edit) | 1976 uprising to amapiano going global. Use it to show what changed. |
| Chicago | Freedom Highway, The Staple Singers | Black America Again, Common ft. Stevie Wonder | Hometown, two generations, same street. |
| Freedom | A Change Is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke | Freedom, Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar | The promise and the demand. Good closer for the Journey Set. |
| Mandela | Free Nelson Mandela, The Special AKA | Nelson Mandela, Youssou N'Dour | The UK campaign and the Senegalese tribute, back to back. |
| Spirituals to hip-hop | Wade in the Water, Ramsey Lewis Trio | Alright, Kendrick Lamar | Survival songs a century apart. Good teaching pair. |
Checklists
Print these. Tape them to the case. Use them every single night.
Before you load a crate
- Confirm every artist and version A single edit and an album cut are different tracks. Check Fables of Faubus, Move On Up and Haiti specifically.
- Check every clean edit actually exists Dave, Sampa the Great, M.I.A., Burna Boy, Tyla, and every hip-hop track on Feb 24.
- Time every track Add them up. If it's over 90 minutes, cut now, not at 9:40 pm.
- Note BPM and key You don't need to beatmatch this material, but you need to know where the tempo jumps are.
- Normalize your levels Gospel from 1969 and Beyoncé from 2020 are not the same loudness. Fix it in the software, not on the desk.
- Have a backup copy Two drives. One offline. No exceptions.
- Write down the heavy tracks Know exactly where Strange Fruit and Sonny's Lettah sit, and what comes after them.
Content safety for an all-ages room
- No profanity on screen That includes song titles. Mississippi Goddam and F.U.B.U. need a display decision, not just an audio one.
- Label the heavy songs out loud One sentence before Strange Fruit or Hell You Talmbout goes a long way.
- Never two heavy tracks back to back Always put an instrumental or a celebration between them.
- Have a quiet corner Some people will need to step out. Make sure there's somewhere to step out to.
- No talk-over on the testimonies Billie, Nina, Abbey Lincoln, and Gil Scott-Heron get silence underneath them.
Running order rules for young DJs
- Open with something known. Earn the room before you teach it.
- Close with a message, not a banger. Every one of these four nights ends on purpose.
- Keep three escape tracks loaded A dance track, an instrumental, and a sing-along. If the room turns, you have thirty seconds to fix it.
- Watch the room, not the laptop. If the floor is empty during a long track, that's information; don't wait for the whole twelve minutes.
- Say the country out loud. "This is from Colombia." "This is from Senegal." Never say "Africa" as if it's one place.
- Credit the artists on screen Title, artist, country. Every track. It's the whole point of the program.
- Leave 10% buffer Someone will talk, the projector will fail, or a track will run long. Plan for it.
Before the night: what to check
Everything below needs a human check in the DJ's own library before load-in. This list is the difference between a program and a playlist.
The African diaspora in Asia
The Siddi communities of India and Pakistan have a real African-descended history that belongs in this program. Cover it with a short spoken segment during Night 4 (next to Borders), using a recording you have confirmed yourself.
| Item | Night | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Fables of Faubus, Mingus | Feb 3 | Instrumental Columbia cut or vocal Candid cut? |
| Move On Up, Mayfield | Feb 10 | Album length or single edit? Use the single. |
| Haiti, Veloso & Gil | Feb 17 | Which album/version is in the crate. |
| Black, Dave | Feb 24 | Does a clean edit exist? If not, use Introvert instead. |
| Final Form, Sampa the Great · Borders, M.I.A. | Feb 24 | Clean edits for an all-ages room. |
| Water, Tyla | Feb 24 | Clean edit availability, or skip. |